The Senior Research and Career Development Awards will support physician investigators who qualify for admission to an established Master's training program at Harvard Medical School. Upon completion of their training, the trainees will return to Portugal with a full and thorough understanding of clinical research and an active and ongoing clinical research project that will be continued and expanded in Portugal with the help of a two-year research and career development grant including an annual stipend (including benefits) and an annual supplement toward research costs in Portugal. An important condition of the award will be an institutional guarantee of the support and infrastructure required to carry out the work. This support and infrastructure must be guaranteed in writing by the Portuguese hospital, clinical institution, and/or research laboratory in which the clinical research will be conducted.
Each Senior Research and Career Development Award will include funding for the two-year Harvard Scholars in Clinical Science Program (SCSP; see http://www.hms.harvard.edu/gradprograms/scsp/). This two-year post-graduate training program in clinical investigation includes formal course work, a longitudinal seminar series, and a mentored clinical research project. Students who successfully complete the program are awarded a Master of Medical Sciences degree from Harvard Medical School.
The application process for the Senior Research and Career Development Award will be designed to recruit the most competitive Portuguese post-graduate student for intensive training in clinical research at Harvard Medical School. The Admissions Committee will include representatives from the Faculties of Medicine and teaching hospitals throughout Portugal as well as one advisor from the Harvard Scholars in Clinical Science Program. Applicants will be ranked on the basis of their grades, test scores, research experience, letters of recommendation, and interest and aptitude for international-caliber careers in clinical investigation. The best student will be chosen for this program, without regard for gender, country of origin, city of origin, specific field(s) of interest within clinical investigation, or initial preference for returning institution (see above). The program will forward the application of two students per year to the Harvard Medical School Scholars in Clinical Science Program Admissions Committee; if the top Portuguese applicant is accepted through the SCSP’s normal application and admissions process, the program will award the student two years of funding to attend the SCSP and an additional two years of funding as a new clinical investigator in Portugal. Each year of continued funding will be contingent on satisfactory progress.
Duration of activity: Funding will be awarded for up to 4 years. Funding will be conditional on the progress achieved by the awardee as determined upon review by the Review Committee.
Funding: Up to 100,000 Euros per year will be available to support each applicant who is chosen (including salary, travel and support for research in Portugal). For the 2009 call, funding is available for 1 award.
Where to apply: Applications must be submitted online through the FCT website https://concursos.fct.mctes.pt/projectos/ following the Announcement of the Call for Proposals. Information on http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/projectos/concursos/harvard/2009/senior
Applications must be:
- Written in English
- Include three detailed letters of recommendation sent by individuals who are familiar with the applicant's clinical ability and/or research potential. One of these letters must be from the applicant's Department or Division Head who must take responsibility for protected time of the applicant from clinical effort.
- Include a statement of intent that A) Describes the general area of research in which the applicant is interested and his/her reasons for choosing this area (maximum of 300 words) B) provides a general outline of the project(s) that the applicant wishes to complete during the tenure of his/her involvement in the Scholars in Clinical Science Program. Please provide as much detail as possible including hypothesis, methods and potential pitfalls. If the applicant does not have a specific project, describe in general what the project(s) might be (maximum of 700 words). C) If the applicant has already chosen a mentor, what were the reasons for doing so? (maximum of 200 words). D) Describes the applicant's reasons for wishing to attend this program, indicating his/her professional goals and describing why he/she feels that this program will be beneficial to him/her (maximum of 600 words).
- Include the CV of the applicant.
Deadline for receipt of applications: 30 October 2009
Review of applications: Applications will be assessed by a Review Committee of independent experts, to be organized by FCT in close collaboration with Harvard Medical School. The top two applications will be sent to the Scholars in Clinical Science Program Admissions Committee by 1 December 2009.
Notification: The successful applicant will be notified by email after 5 January 2010.
Start of activity: Program starts 1 July 2010.
Progress Report. A yearly report will be delivered, for interim review by the Review Committee. The Committee has the right to recommend that further funding be discontinued or extended for one more year.
Final Report: A Final Report will be delivered, for review by the Review Committee.